Bio

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Mary Beth Leatherdale writes, edits, and consults who on books, magazines and digital resources for children and youth. She is the author of Stormy Seas: Stories of Young Boat Refugees, a Quill & Quire Book of the Year, a Booklist Editor's Choice, and a Silver Birch Award, Honour Book among other honours. Recently, Mary Beth co-edited #NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women, an anthology that showcases the strength, diversity, and talent of Indigenous girls and women across North America. Among other honours, it received the American Indian Library Associations' Youth Literature Award, was honoured as an Amelia Bloomer Project List Top Ten title, named a Book of the Year by Quill & Quire, an Excellence in Non-fiction for Young People Finalist, YALSA and a Indigenous Literature Finalist, First Nations Communities READ.

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Mary Beth's work as a Publishing and Editorial Consultant for clients has provided rich opportunities for writing, editing, and literacy research in Canada and the United States. As well, she has managed editorial projects like the McGraw-Hill iLit Digital Collection for high school students, acquiring original material by contemporary Aboriginal and regional authors such as Lisa Moore, David Groulx and Marina Nemat.

Mary Beth was the Editorial Director for Owlkids’ magazine and book divisions and the editor of beloved magazines Chirp and OWL.

Mary Beth grew up on a farm in southwestern Ontario. Her interest in Native culture developed while attending Howard Harwich Moravian Public School (now the Naahi Ridge Public School) with students from the Delaware Nation. After completing her Honours BA in Visual Arts at The University of Western Ontario, she went on to pursue a Master of Education in the Sociology of Education from the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education (OISE), where her research focused on the delivery of anti-racist curricula.

Mary Beth is the President of IBBY Canada, a non-profit organization founded in recognition of the power of children's books to bridge cultures and promote peace. IBBY Canada works to support the right of every child to become a reader through access to high quality books and to promote Canadian authors, artists, storytellers and scholars in Canada and internationally.